Cold Weather Friends

The consensus among aficionados is when the weather turns cold darker beer — stouts and porters — are the choice. I’m a huge fan of dark beers. I grew up on Yuengling Black & Tan. It was the gateway beer for me from mass produced, super cheap beers like Blatz and Schlitz (Oh man, am I that old?) to microbrews (which we now call craft beers). I guess I am getting old.

Lighter vs. darker in the snow

I’m thankful for Black & Tan because it led me to visit St. James’s Gate Brewery when I was in Ireland and I learned the Guinness we drink here barely tastes like the Guinness in Ireland. And I was able to convert a couple Yankees to the dark side!

The cold and the nostalgia made me curious about darker beers I could find locally. In Lititz, the Sturgis Haus is offering a new Imperial Oatmeal Stout, and JoBoy’s recently released a Dry Irish Stout, which is quite light with a strong roasted flavor. As part of their new expanded flagship lineup, Appalachian Brewing Company released Chocolate Avenue Stout on Jan. 23 and will pop the top on Trail Blaze Maple Brown Ale this Friday.

In Ephrata, St. Boniface is pouring their latest Offering; #19 is a darn good Northern English brown ale. And there has been a popular response to the brews at Black Forest Brewery, which is offering its Shreck Tavern Stout. Meanwhile, malt has always been a friend to Tom Rupp at Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. Their Round Boy Stout is tapped alongside their porter.

Of course there are also many nationally available options for winter ales. Big and small brewers alike put out a product designed to appeal to our seasonal tastes. For those bitterly cold nights I’d also suggest a heavy Belgian, something bottled with a cork and weighing in at over seven percent ABV. Speaking of weighing heavy, Stoudt’s offers their Fat Dog Imperial Stout (nine percent ABV) year-round.

So, those are ideas of beers to drink when it is cold, but what about the temperature of the beer itself? Fellow beer writer Mark Garrison (slate.com) suggests serving quality beers warmer than they are often found at the local bar. Stouts, says Garrison, should be served at a temperature ranging between 50 and 55 degrees. That might be a hard drop to swallow for many longtime beer lovers, but I agree. There is nothing more aromatically appealing than the first sip of a malty ale served from a room temperature firkin. However, that’s not a beer I’m drinking every day. So, if you want a picture of mountains on your can to turn blue when the beer is nice and chilly that’s cool too. Right now I’m enjoying a Founding Fathers Brewing Company Amber, not very dark in the context of talking about winter beers, but it’s research. Stay tuned …

Michael C. Upton is a freelance writer specializing in arts and leisure. He welcomes comments at somepromcu@gmail.com and facebook.com/SomebodiesProductions.